The Netherlands has a world market share of more than 18% for the export of raw potatoes in 2017 - as with many other agricultural products. In second and third place are other EU countries: France and Germany with almost 14% and 9% share of the world's export of potatoes, which amounted to 3.8 billion euros.
Image: International Trade Centre (ITC) / Weltexporte.de
Brought over by the Spanish Conquistadors, in the 16th century the wonderous tuber came over from South America (to be more precise: from the Incas) to Europe for the first time, where they initially were rejected. However, people quickly recognized the great practical and nutritional value of the potato, which is why it enjoys greater popularity in Europe today than in most other regions of the world. Especially in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, potato is regarded as an important staple food.
Netherlands comes first regarding processed potato products
In addition to raw potatoes, the Netherlands is also the world's leading exporter of processed potatoes (such as French fries). It is also noteworthy that five out of ten countries in the top 10 are from the EU. These countries alone, produce approximately 50% of the world potato exports.
Source: International Trade Center (ITC) / Weltexporte.de